Marketer A-List 2018: Salesforce

Salesforce isn't known for big, splashy brand campaigns that tackle social issues or for celebrity-laden spots. It hasn't run a single TV commercial in two years.

Yet it's an $80 billion company with a rabid fan base and fantastic revenue. In the last three years, the world's leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform has more than doubled its stock price while showing growth each quarter. In its third quarter, revenue grew 26 percent to $3.5 billion, and the company says it's on pace to hit $23 billion for full-year 2022. Although it's historically operated as a b-to-b behemoth, Salesforce is aiming to grow by appealing to marketers who operate in the business-to-consumer landscape, an area that rival Adobe has long dominated.

Founded in 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, now Salesforce's CEO, the company has long tapped into its user base to create both buzz and revenue. Not exactly a sexy business, Salesforce can on the surface seem confusing: The company has 12 cloud businessesMarketing Cloud, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and so onall in the business of centralizing customer data. It uses consumer marketing techniques to mobilize its b-to-b audience and is a master of earned media, whether through its annual Dreamforce extravaganza or opening its latest office, Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, which it marked with a full day of celebrations in May.